Fish Bowl Christianity

Fish Bowl Christianity

Unlike many people, I never had a "family pet" as I was growing up.

Never, ever.

My mom was (and very-much-so still is) allergic to everything under the sun.

Aaaand I had more siblings than your average American family, but without quite reaching Dugger-family-status. (or coming anywhere even close, whew!… side note: could you even imagine?!)

These factors, added in with the fact that my parents spent every extra dime they had on private education for all five of us kids, really just weren't all-that-conducive to including a family pet of any sort.

But don't feel sorry for me. I don't feel like I was jipped or anything. I love my family, and the memories I can still recall from my childhood are nothing short of classic. Pet or no pet.

When I "grew up" and moved to Lynchburg about four years ago, I tossed around the idea of getting a pet. You know, just to see what it would be like. Nothing huge or fancy or gross or high-maintenance. (Ok, so that ended up being nothing at all. hah.) 

But, in passing, I thought about getting a goldfish. 

Much like an overzealous girlfriend or an overly bored female of any age would do, I picked out names long before reality required me to do so. That's right. I picked out a name for my not-in-reality goldfish. 

Ready for this? His name would be….. Soweto. 

The reasoning behind this name was two-fold. One, it's the name of a town in Africa that I fervently prayed over for quite some time. (Man, I need to get back to doing that.) 

And two, if you say it slowly, it makes for one cheesy joke "So….Wet….Oh." Get it? For a goldfish? (No, I'm not even lying; but man oh man, know I wish I were. #blushing #embarrassed) Maybe one day that whole Soweto thing will actually happen. Or maybe not. I'm cool with it either way.

All of those memories came to my mind just this past weekend as I was traveling back from Jacksonville, FL ("home-home") to Lynchburg, VA ("home") because of a conversation I had with an old friend. 

I take that back. It wasn't so much the whole conversation as it was just one simple phrase. In the midst of our conversation-over-Cracker-Barrell-yumminess, she struck me with a phrase so honest yet so painful that it couldn't be ignored. She said this.

"Rosemary, I feel like God's abandoned me."

And then, she proceeded to tell me a certain desire she's prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed over and how God has yet to fulfill it in her life. She traversed through the ups and downs of where she's been in life with God concerning it. (Perhaps you could relate?)

The sequence of her prayers went something like this:

"God, do You hear me?"

"God, if You hear me, why aren't you giving me (fill-in-the-blank)?"

"God, are You angry at me?"

"God, I just don't understand."

"God, I'm done. Take my desire for (fill-in-the-blank) away."

"God, why am I still desiring (fill-in-the-blank) if it's not Your will?"

"God, are You still there?"

"God, do You even care?"

Her follow-through to this sequence of prayers were some stories of her college friends who already had what she was desiring and begging and praying-her-heart-out-to-God-about. She was frustrated. Sad. Hopeless. Broken. Jealous. Bitter. In utter ruins.

What do you say to someone who's hopped off the train leading to hope? To one who feels forgotten? To one who's absolutely convinced herself that God's simply not "tardy" in the details and affairs of her life, but that He's altogether absentee?

1. Speak truth into her life, yes please.

2. Empathize, without a doubt.

3. Pray, most definitely.

With all said, I readily acknowledge that reason and emotion don't always align. I know it because I've been there too. All. too. often. Do you ever find yourself there as well? We know all-too-well the truth with our minds, but when-oh-when will we let it sink deep down into our hearts?

I know the book of Jeremiah reminds us that the heart is DESPERATELY wicked, and it'll deceive us all-the-time. 

But my God is bigger than our hearts. 

For He created them (without our help). 

He fashioned them (without our approval). 

He can control them (if we'd only give Him the reigns).

Just listening to my friend talk, I realized how easy it is to look at others' lives and compare. It's easy to look at everyone else as if they're swimming in the ocean when you're stuck in a fish bowl (and stuck with a name like Soweto. ha.).

But don't get me wrong. I'm not saying God is holding the ocean back from you. Perhaps, He's simply preparing you for it. (Pssst...You know, there are sharks and big waves and things out there....?!?) It's no secret that He's always got your best interest at heart.

Reminds me slightly of the Israelites. Who ate manna and complained. And complained and ate manna. And ate manna and complained. (You get the idea, don't you?!?) God provided everything they needed right where they were DESPITE THEMSELVES.

Bottom line is this:

God loves us. 

far. 

too. 

much. 

To withhold good things from us.

The problem is that our definitions of "what's good," our timetables, and heart's desires don't always match up with our Heavenly Father's.

Today, look around. You've got everything you need. right. in. front. of. you. (yes, inside your fish bowl)

Stop listing out your complaints.

And start counting your pieces of manna instead.

Why are people so afraid of the truth?

Why are people so afraid of the truth?

We live in a day and age where people are plain-out scared of the truth. 

Scared to speak it (for fear the of other people's response). 

Scared to hear it (for fear of how our lives must change as a result of it). 

Scared even to watch it being spoken on behalf of the lives of others. (Really, what's up with that?!)

I think Satan loves nothing better than lackadaisical Christians who lay around in lounge chairs of lies. While we church-goers may not be prone to wear an infamous blue-and-white visitor's sticker that reads "Hello, my name is …. pathological liar," our lives (in a very subtle way) sometimes suggest this much is true. 

Before you get your feathers ruffled, listen to me when I say this: A liar isn't just someone who tells lies. A liar could be a person who simply neglects to speak the truth. 

Why no, I'm not prone to lie about people, make up stories about them, or add faulty details to an already true story. I've got far too many things on my to-do-list for that. I am, however, very prone to NOT speaking truth into someone's life when it's needed. 

Why?  For me, it's fear. Fear of upsetting people. Fear of hurting people's feelings. Fear of losing relationships for the sake of the truth. But as I think about it…. I've come to this conclusion: I'd rather have relationships wilt or dug up in my life because of a truth spoken than relationships grown out of seeds of "it's-not-my-place-to-judge"s and watered in "what-you-want-to-hear"s.

The Bible says that the truth sets men free.

In my experience, truth likes sunlight. It doesn't hide in the shadows and alleyways.  It dances in rain, knowing that better days are coming. Truth celebrates in community. It's not a secret to be kept.

Simply put: Stop hiding in fears. Stop hiding in truths not spoken. Someone in your life needs to be set free today. Say the things everyone's thinking, but no one's saying. Go the extra mile(s) required to show love to the people in your life by the truths you speak into them.

Pray that God gives you the words, strength, courage, and timeliness in which to say them. Most of all, beg that God would surround your life with people who unashamedly will speak truth into your life as well. 

Lives are changed when truths are told.

And perhaps, that's why people are so afraid of the truth.

Free Up Some Space

Free Up Some Space

So  I just bought a Mac computer a couple months ago and finally (with the help of my brother) figured out how to transfer all my iTunes from my PC to my Mac.

Then came my next feat. Syncing all that music to my Iphone, so my ringtone would stop being that embarrassing marimba sound. What is a marimba, by the way? By the sound of it, I'm thinking some kind of xylophone. Anyway, all of that to say, as I was syncing up my iTunes with my iPhone, I realized something.

I've got way too much music on my computer. So much in fact that I may have to free up some space for other things if some more is added.

Speaking of freeing up some space….

If you took inventory of your life right now, what is it that you'd need to free your life from so you'd have space for the things that matter more? For the things that matter most.

Think about it, free up that space, add things more important than the marimba ringtone, and sync yourself up with what matters the most.

What ever happened to Orpah?

What ever happened to Orpah?

No, I'm not talking about Oprah. The television talk show goddess. That so many women (ahem, people) adore and talk their socks off about.

I'm sure if someone really wanted to know about her, they could Google her, or Facebook her, or follow her on Twitter, or buy her magazine, or join her book club, or something…

But the woman I'm referring to Orpah. The girl mentioned in the Bible in the book of Ruth. And it's  100% doubtful that if the Bible doesn't tell us where exactly she went and what exactly happened to her, then we won't be able to find out the hard-and-fast truth of her whereabouts. At least not one with a Holy Spirit backing,stamp, seal, and inspiration packaged around it.

At first glance, you may be like I was. You think Orpah's just a supporting character. She's in the shadow of the spotlight. She's on the sidelines, riding the bench during the most exciting parts of the game. She's the back-up singer that adds something, but isn't quite necessary. She's a one-scene-and-she's-done type of actress.  She simply moves the plot from point A to point B….

Or is she?

Maybe you don't care.

Maybe you don't think it makes a difference where she ended up.

I mean, "If God wanted us to know, He would've told us," right? Maybe you're right. Maybe it doesn't matter after all.

But perhaps, you're in a different boat, heading in a different direction. You're now thinking, "Hmmm… you may be on to something, buuuut Rosemary, the title of the book is RUTH. Let's not get carried away. Let's simply focus on that the main character and the main story at hand."

Or perhaps, maybe you rowing in your little boat and you've just come upon the shore of a new line of thought….

maybe you've just never sat down and thought about it long enough to notice. 

Please don't get me wrong: I love the story of Ruth. I love her commitment to integrity, hard work, faithfulness to those she loves, and her unwavering heart that followed after God. 

I love knowing that God is always at work behind the scenes. And love watching love stories unfold. In God's way. and in His timing. for His ultimate glory. I love the picture that Boaz is of Christ. Not only the impeccable qualifications he exhibits as a-more-than-capable Redeemer, but His overwhelming willingness to do so. It. gets. me. every. time.

Being raised in church, I've heard the story of Ruth and Boaz over and over and over again.

But tonight, in Bible study, was different. (Perhaps, I just was searching for something deeper.)

I wanted, rather longed, to know just what happened to Orpah?!? I actually looked it up in my Bible, and I couldn't find it.  Yes, Ruth 1:14-15 tells us that Orpah "kissed her mother-in-law" (Naomi) and "returned to her people and returned to her gods." But what next??

Please tell me that bothers someone other than me. Or at least that it has some of you at the very least, curious.

I hope so. Because that's what my heart was asking God tonight. "What happened to Orpah?"

This is the simple answer He spoke directly into my heart tonight:

"Ruth lived by faith. She lived to be an integral part of My story as a result.

Orpah lived by sight. She lived to be a part of her own story, amongst her own people, worshipping her own gods. I wasn't even invited into her story. Her living-it-up-via-sight crowded out her giving-it-up-via-faith."

With that response from the Lord, I realized this. The initial prompting of that question wasn't and isn't about Orpah at all.

It's about me.

And it's about you.

When people think back to you and your life story and ask, "What ever happened to so-and-so?"

What will they say?